Barma'thazël
Barma'thazël, also known as the Demon General,' '''is a boss in The Messenger. He is the eighth boss in the game and is fought at the end of the Underworld. Barma'thazël serves the Demon King and disguises himself as the Wanderer in order to keep an eye on Ninja. While disguised, he acts as an enemy encounter in Bamboo Creek and Glacial Peak. Barma'thazël is known for his ability of being very fast. Profile Appearance Barma'thazël is a tall muscular humanoid red demon. He shares some animal characteristics, like two tan backwards-pointing ram horns on the top of his head, two pointy ears on the sides of his head, and two legs with hooves and backwards-facing knees that are similar to a horse's legs. Barma'thazël sports a black eyepatch and and a black twin-tailed beard. He wears minimal tan armor, which consists of a singular shoulder pad that covers his arm, a leather belt that diagonally connects from the shoulder pad to the waist, and apron-like armor that covers the sides of his legs and the area in between. He also wears tan wristbands and legbands. Occasionally, Barma'thazël's uncovered eye glows and fades away, like a small star, and this always happens the moment before he performs a fast dash attack. Barma'thazël wields two swords attached together by the handle. The two swords can detach from each other in order to be dual-wielded. As the Wanderer, he wears a brown cape, a brown balaclava that covers his entire head, a white eyepatch, a white tunic, brown pants, a brown waist sash, and white shoes with brown soles. His brown cloak is held together by a clasp near his neck. A flask is attached to the side of his waist. The Wanderer wields a tall polearm that is nearly twice his height. Personality Barma'thazël speaks respectfully to his ruler, the Demon King, and is obedient to the Demon King, following his commands. Barma'thazël is also very devious, brainwashing the normally kind Manfred to become evil, dropping Ninja into the Underworld, and attempting to kill Ninja on different occasions. Barma'thazël enacts evil plans that mostly involve leading Ninja into traps and tends to laugh evilly. Wanderer Fight The Wanderer only has 3 health, which normally means Ninja must damage the Wanderer 3 times. However, if Ninja is on New Game + and has purchased the "Demon's bane" shop upgrade, a powered-up attack will immediately defeat the Wanderer (while the Wanderer is vulnerable). Once the Wanderer's health is depleted, the Wanderer teleports and vanishes from the arena. Ninja gains nothing from defeating the Wanderer, and returning to the arena will respawn the Wanderer, as if the Wanderer was a generic enemy. Ninja can just completely ignore the Wanderer and leave the Wanderer's room since there is nothing obstructing the exits. The Wanderer disappears from Bamboo Creek and Glacial Peak after Ninja gains the power to freely time travel. Attacks Default Stance The Wanderer does not act until Ninja enters the Wanderer's elevation (anywhere from the bottom of the Wanderer's feet to the tip of the Wanderer's polearm). Once the Wanderer is triggered, he remains aggressive even if Ninja leaves the Wanderer's trigger zone. The Wanderer's first priority is to rush towards Ninja to close the horizontal gap between themselves. If the Wanderer is within striking distance of Ninja, he randomly intersperses between strafing and swinging his polearm downward to strike Ninja. Straight Dash The Wanderer is normally invulnerable. If Ninja attempts to hurt the Wanderer, the Wanderer teleports away before the strike lands, teleporting behind Ninja. (If there is no room behind Ninja due to Ninja's back being up against a wall, then the Wanderer just teleports away and immediately reappears in place.) After teleporting behind Ninja, the Wanderer immediately follows up with a straight dash, attempting to dash through Ninja to deal damage. Ninja can avoid the straight dash by jumping. The Wanderer pauses at the end of the dash. While the Wanderer is dashing or paused, he is vulnerable to damage. But once stricken, the Wanderer's invulnerability returns. Upward Jab If Ninja enters the Wanderer's vertical coordinates from above, the Wanderer freezes in place and jabs his polearm upward. The Wanderer remains frozen in place until Ninja exits the Wanderer's vertical coordinates. Boss Fight Normal Energy Shurikens can change Barma'thazël's behavior if thrown at the appropriate times, but the Windmill Shuriken does not. Phases Phase 1 * 60-70 HP * Attack Pattern: Idle Stance → Straight Dash → Throw Sword and Dash (1 Ground Touch) → Straight Dash → Throw Sword and Dash (2 Ground Touches) → Repeat Phase 2 * 36-59 HP * Attack Pattern: Idle Stance → Levitate → Straight Dash → Throw Sword and Dash → Repeat * If a shuriken is thrown during "Idle Stance," then "Levitate" is skipped. Phase 3 * 1-35 HP * Attack Pattern: Rotating Blades → Idle Stance → Straight Dash → Throw Sword and Dash → Idle Stance → Levitate → Repeat * "Straight Dash" and "Levitate" can be skipped if a shuriken is thrown during the appropriate "Idle Stance." Attacks Idle Stance Barma'thazël stands there, not doing anything for 2.5 seconds (for Phase 1) or 0.5 seconds (for Phase 2 and 3). Then, the idle stance ends, and he moves on to his next attack. However, if Ninja throws a shuriken at him during the idle stance, then Barma'thazël will spend 0.5 seconds to reflect it with his swords and stand idly for 2.5 seconds. Each time a shuriken is thrown during idle stance, the 2.5-second timer resets. Ninja can take advantage of this fact, throwing shurikens in intervals and sword-slashing Barma'thazël to get in free damage. Straight Dash Barma'thazël twirls his swords like a windmill, crosses his arms together, then his eye flashes, which telegraphs that he will do a straight dash attack. On the ground, Barma'thazël dashes forward until he passes Ninja's vertical coordinates a small distance or reaches the wall. He finishes the attack by twirling his swords around like a windmill once again. During the beginning and ending of this attack while Barma'thazël twirls his swords, he'll automatically reflect any shurikens thrown at him. Throw Sword and Dash (Phase 1) Demon Hives appear and pop out of their holes. Ninja can attack them to Cloudstep around the arena. After the Demon Hives appear, Barma'thazël throws his sword up to the ceiling or to a wall and disappears, teleporting to grab his sword where he clings to the wall. Many times in a row, his eye will flash once, he'll lock onto Ninja's position and dash forward in a straight line until he hits a wall, then he will repeat the process. Barma'thazël will do this until he touches the ground once or twice (alternates depending on which part of the attack pattern he's on), or until he does 10 dashes. If the 10th dash is reached, he'll automatically dash to the middle section of the ceiling, then down to the middle of the ground. If Barma'thazël has dashed at least 3 times in a row before he touches the ground for the final time, then he pants for 6 seconds or until 6 damage is dealt to him. Afterwards, all Demon Hives retreat into their holes. Throw Sword and Dash (Phase 2) Similar to phase 1: Demon Hives appear, Barma'thazël telegraphs his dashes, and caps out at 10 dashes. However, he does not alternate between 1-2 ground touches; instead, if Barma'thazël touches the ground after doing at least 3 dashes, he will automatically dash to the middle of the ceiling, then down to the middle of the ground, where he pants for 6 seconds or until 6 damage is dealt to him. Afterwards, all Demon Hives retreat into their holes. Throw Sword and Dash (Phase 3) Identical to phase 2, but if Barma'thazël touches the ground after doing at least 5 dashes, he will automatically dash to the middle of the ceiling, then down to the middle of the ground, where he pants for 6 seconds or until 6 damage is dealt to him. Afterwards, all Demon Hives retreat into their holes. Levitate Barma'thazël twirls his swords like a windmill, tosses his swords away, throwing them outward to both sides of the room where they stick to the walls, and teleports away. Demon Hives appear and Barma'thazël materializes into one of the upper corners of the room, where he levitates in place. The swords fill the floor with fire. If Ninja deals 3 damage to Barma'thazël, he will teleport to the opposite corner of the room. Barma'thazël levitates for 12 seconds or until he takes 9 damage. Then, he'll teleport back to the ground, the side of the room furthest from Ninja, and all Demon Hives retreat into their holes. During the beginning of this attack while Barma'thazël twirls his swords, he'll automatically reflect any normal shurikens thrown at him. Rotating Blades Barma'thazël twirls his swords like a windmill, tosses his swords away, and teleports away. Three fireballs form into a rotating bar with rotating swords on both ends, and the rotating bar follows Ninja around for about 8 seconds. Afterwards, the rotating bar disappears and Barma'thazël reappears on the ground. During the beginning of this attack while Barma'thazël twirls his swords, he'll automatically reflect any normal shurikens thrown at him. Main Story During the demon army's invasion of Ninja Village, the Demon King commands Barma'thazël to his side. Barma'thazël teleports in, and the Demon King instructs him to keep an eye on Ninja. Barma'thazël agrees to do so and teleports away. As Ninja travels through Bamboo Creek and Glacial Peak, he comes across a robed figure with a tall polearm, the Wanderer. The Wanderer engages Ninja in combat as Ninja passes through these areas. Ninja can attempt to defeat the Wanderer, but the Wanderer will eventually teleport away rather than dying. After Ninja completes the "leap of faith" in the Tower of Time, the Wanderer is seen in 16-bit Cloud Ruins, waiting for the Tower of Time's arrival. The Tower of Time appears, and the Wanderer teleports away before Ninja leaves the Tower of Time and enters Cloud Ruins for the first time. As Ninja travels through Cloud Ruins, he is chased by the brainwashed Manfred several times. At the end of Cloud Ruins, Ninja engages in combat with Manfred and defeats him, which restores Manfred back to his normal self. Manfred flies off, and the Wanderer teleports in. The Wanderer explains that he has been watching Ninja for quite some time. Ninja asks of the Wanderer's identity, to which the Wanderer reveals that he is wearing a disguise. The Wanderer is disappointed that Ninja freed his slave pet, the brainwashed Manfred, but the Wanderer is confident that he can defeat Ninja anyways. The Wanderer discards his disguise, revealing that he is actually Barma'thazël. Ninja is quite shocked by the reveal and declares he'll make Barma'thazël pay for what he did to Ninja Village, but Barma'thazël decries Ninja for speaking so boldly and states that the Underworld awaits for Ninja and the demons will finally obtain the scroll. Barma'thazël merely taps his weapon against the ground, which removes the clouds beneath Ninja's feet, dropping Ninja into the Underworld. Ninja traverses the Underworld. In the shop before the boss room, Ninja can speak with The Shopkeeper to inquire about the upcoming boss fight. Ninja believes that Barma'thazël must be up next, and The Shopkeeper warns Ninja that he's heard that Barma'thazël is pretty fast. Ninja enters Barma'thazël's room, proclaiming that Barma'thazël has nowhere left to run now. But, Barma'thazël states he has no reason to run, and it is Ninja who has stepped into his trap. Ninja asserts that it is yet to be determined. Barma'thazël laughs at Ninja's confidence and states that the two will put an end to this now, calling Ninja the "champion of the blue robes" before they engage in combat. Ninja defeats Barma'thazël. Bewildered with the loss, Barma'thazël states that he is the fastest there's ever been. Ninja demands Barma'thazël to reveal how to end the curse, but Barma'thazël explains that it's not a task that can be summed up so simplistically. Ninja is adamant that he'll put an end to this and to the Demon King. Barma'thazël informs Ninja that neither he nor Ninja will leave the room alive, and that if he can't obtain the scroll, then he shall destroy it. Barma'thazël levitates and glows brightly and disappears in a bright flash of light, causing the room to shake violently. The ceiling collapses and creates large holes into the floor. Ninja falls through the floor and down an extremely tall chasm where he's about to fall into a river of lava, but he is saved at the last second by a flying Manfred. Ninja flies on Manfred to 16-bit Ninja Village, rescuing the village from the Demon King's attack. The Demon King is displeased by Barma'thazël's failure to take care of Ninja and eventually teleports away. Later on when Ninja reaches the Demon King's room in Forlorn Temple, the Demon King commands Barma'thazël to his side, but he does not appear. Ninja explains that Barma'thazël has been defeated, to the Demon King's dismay. Picnic Panic :''For the main article, see Picnic Panic. In an alternate timeline, far off the coast of Messenger Island, five Phobekins enjoy a picnic on an idyllic secluded beach on the tropical Voodkin Island. But unbeknownst to them, Barma'thazël hides in a bush in the nearby jungle. Barma'thazël ambushes the Phobekins and grabs a corner of the picnic blanket, upturning the Phobekins' picnic and terrorizing the Phobekins. He uses the picnic blanket as a kidnapping sack, scooping up all five Phobekins. Barma'thazël then walks into the jungle with the sack of Phobekins on his back, leaving behind the sad remains of an uneaten picnic. He plans to use the Phobekins for an evil ritual. Later, Barma'thazël gazes at Ninja's approach within a scrying orb, and the narrator implies that Barma'thazël is leading Ninja into a trap. ARG :For the main article, see ARG. February 4 and 5, 2019 Outside of the game, players from the official The Messenger Discord server were given a chance by The Archivist to choose between three different books: a green book labeled "NINJA," a blue book labeled "THE ALCHEMIST," and a red book labeled "BARMA'THAZEL." Players voted for the book labeled "NINJA." The Archivist provided players a taste of the info they had given up: if Barma'thazël's book was chosen, The Archivist would have shown an excerpt detailing what Barma'thazël's special power was before he lost an eye, and how he came to lose it. March 15, 2019 In the official The Messenger Discord server, the Clockwork Concierge wrote a message that is potentially related to Barma'thazël. Paraphrasing of the deleted message: The first asterisk word was blue, like the name of a friendly character. The second word was red, like the name of something related to evil. The first asterisk word was six letters long, and the second word had an apostrophe, according to Boo, a person who was able to memorize part of the message before it was deleted. March 22, 2019 In the official The Messenger Discord server, the Clockwork Concierge held a small quiz for Time Shards. He asked two easy game-based trivia questions, then he asked an impossible question related to the Demon General. April 16, 2019 In the official The Messenger Discord server, the Clockwork Castle was threatened by the Demon General, which prompted the Clockwork Concierge to recruit a couple of moderators earlier than scheduled. Trivia * Barma'thazël is referred to as "DEMON_GENERAL" in the dialogue files and "DemonGeneral" in the picture files. In his disguised form, he is referred to as "WANDERER" in the dialogue files and "Wanderer" in the picture files. * There is unused dialogue between Ninja and Barma'thazël in the dialogue files, referred to as "BARMATHAZEL_GAUNTLET_INTRO." This cut section of the game was originally involved in obtaining the Key of Chaos, as Ninja travels through 8-bit Underworld. ** : And so you step into my lair yet again. ** : I've seen how this ends, Demon! You won't like it. ** : *snort* You think I can't use simple scrying magic? Don't make me laugh. ** : Then you know you can't defeat me. ** : Not in one on one combat. ** : ... ** : You really should learn to watch your step. We are right above The Underworld's unstable core. It's been a pleasure, Messenger. Now let's see you deal with THIS! * Although not accessible through normal gameplay, "enemyTemplate" is used as a placeholder for 16-bit Wanderer in Bamboo Creek and Glacial Peak. "enemyTemplate" is placeholder art for normal enemies, drawn by game programmer, Sylvain Cloutier. * In the "Sabobo Direct - March 2019" video, it was revealed that The Bowman's main villain was Barma'thazël. Achievements :For the main article, see Achievements. Gallery Barma'thazël and Wanderer PAX East 2018.png|Official T-shirt design for PAX East 2018, which depicts Wanderer and Barma'thazël on either sides of The Shopkeeper. Barma'thazël DemonGeneralIcon_16.png|Barma'thazël's 16-bit talk portrait icon. DemonGeneralIntro.png|Barma'thazël's 8-bit idle spritesheet. PP_Cutscenes_Barmathazel_8.png|8-bit spritesheet of Barma'thazël pulling out a seed from his pocket. PP_BarmBush_8.png|8-bit spritesheet of Barma'thazël hiding in a bush. DemonGeneral_16_Idle.png|Barma'thazël's 16-bit idle spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_HitFloor.png|Barma'thazël's floor-hitting spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_IdleFight.png|Barma'thazël's battle idle stance spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_Majorette.png|Barma'thazël's shuriken-reflecting spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_SwitchBlade.png|Barma'thazël's sword-separating spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_DashAnticipation.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël initiating a straight dash attack. EyeBlink_16.png|Barma'thazël's eye-flashing spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_ThrowBlade.png|Part 1 of Barma'thazël's sword-throwing spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_ThrowBladePhaseOut.png|Part 2 of Barma'thazël's sword-throwing spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_BladeGrab_Wall_PhaseIn.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël teleporting to a wall where he clings to his sword. DemonGeneral_16_BladeGrab_Ceiling_PhaseIn.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël teleporting to the ceiling where he clings to his sword. DemonGeneral_16_BladeGrab_Floor_PhaseIn.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël teleporting to the floor where he clings to his sword. Unused? DemonGeneral_16_GrabBlade_Wall_Idle_0.png|Sprite of Barma'thazël clinging to his swords in a wall. DemonGeneral_16_GrabBlade_Ceiling_Idle_0.png|Sprite of Barma'thazël clinging to his swords in the ceiling. DemonGeneral_16_GrabBlade_Floor_Idle_0.png|Sprite of Barma'thazël clinging to his sword in the floor. DemonGeneral_16_DashHorizontal.png|Sprite of Barma'thazël dashing forward with one sword. DemonGeneral_16_DashHorizontal2.png|Sprite of Barma'thazël dashing forward with both swords. DemonGeneral_16_DashVertical2.png|Sprite of Barma'thazël dashing upward with both swords. DemonGeneral_16_Panting.png|Barma'thazël's panting spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_Hurt.png|Barma'thazël's hurt sprite. DemonGeneral_16_Levitate_Phase_IN.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël teleporting into his levitation move. DemonGeneral_16_Levitate.png|Barma'thazël's levitation spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_IdleFight_Phase_IN.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël teleporting to the floor where he returns to his idle stance. DemonGeneral_16_BladeSpin.png|Barma'thazël's spinning sword spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_BladeStop.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël's sword sticking into a wall. DemonGeneral_16_FireBlade_IN.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël's sword catching on fire. DemonGeneral_16_FireBlade_Loop.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël's sword on fire. fireBeamBegin.png|Spritesheet of the fire emitted from Barma'thazël's sword. fireBeamTile.png|Spritesheet of the fire emitted between Barma'thazël's swords. DemonGeneral_16_FireBall.png|Spritesheet of the fireball that forms the rotating bar attack. DemonGeneral_DeathFX.png|Spritesheet of the special effect that appears as Barma'thazël disappears from the Underworld, named "DemonGeneral_DeathFX." PP_Cutscenes_Barmathazel_16.png|16-bit spritesheet of Barma'thazël pulling out a seed from his pocket. PP_Cutscenes_Barmathazel_16_Seed_LVL2.png|16-bit spritesheet of Barma'thazël pulling out the powered-up seed from his pocket. PP_Cutscenes_Barmathazel_DoThing_16_0.png|Sprite of Barma'thazël holding his sword arm into the air. CollectiblesFigures_40x40_0.png|Barma'thazël's 8-bit toy. CollectiblesFigures_40x40_1.png|Barma'thazël's 16-bit toy. Description Card Barma'thazël.png|Barma'thazël's description card. PanicSpoiler2.png|Picnic Panic intro cutscene, where Barma'thazël hides in a nearby bush. PanicSpoiler3.png|Picnic Panic intro cutscene, where Barma'thazël terrorizes the Phobekins's picnic. PanicSpoiler4.png|Picnic Panic intro cutscene, where Barma'thazël kidnaps the Phobekins. PP_Slideshow_Intro_frame6_01 Edited 1.png|Picnic Panic cutscene, where Barma'thazël gazes at Ninja inside of a scrying orb. HolidayShop.png|The Holiday Shop, depicting Barma'thazël hiding in the Christmas tree. Steam Trading Card 2.png|Barma'thazël's Steam trading card. Steam Trading Card Artwork 2.jpg|Barma'thazël's Steam trading card artwork. Key Art 3.png|Key art #3, which depicts Barma'thazël at the top. PicnicPanic_KeyArt_NoLogo.png|Picnic Panic key art, which depicts Barma'thazël surfing on top of his swords. Shinobi No Kikan Barma'thazël.jpg|Barma'thazël in Shinobi No Kikan. Wanderer WandererIcon_8.png|Wanderer's 8-bit talk portrait icon. WandererIcon_16.png|Wanderer's 16-bit talk portrait icon. Idle_8.png|Wanderer's 8-bit idle spritesheet. Walk_8.png|Wanderer's walking spritesheet. ReachUp_8.png|Wanderer's upward jab spritesheet. NormalAttack_8.png|Wanderer's normal attack spritesheet. PhaseOut_8.png|Wanderer's 8-bit teleporting away spritesheet. PhaseIn_8.png|Wanderer's 8-bit teleporting return spritesheet. DaskAttack_8.png|Wanderer's dash attack sprite. Hit_8.png|Wanderer's hurt sprite. PP_Cutscenes_Barmathazel_8_Appear.png|Spritesheet of Wanderer teleporting in Picnic Panic. PP_Cutscenes_Barmathazel_8_Seed_LVL2.png|Spritesheet of Wanderer pulling out a seed from his cloak. Idle_16.png|Wanderer's 16-bit idle spritesheet. WandererAppear 16.png|Wanderer's 16-bit teleporting spritesheet. DemonGeneral_16_Intro.png|Spritesheet of Barma'thazël removing his disguise. DemonGeneral_16_CapeIntro.png|The sprite of the cape during Barma'thazël's disguise removal. enemyTemplate.png|Placeholder art for 16-bit Wanderer in Bamboo Creek and Glacial Peak. pt-br:Barma'thazël ru:Барма'Тазель Category:ARG Category:Characters Category:Bosses Category:Enemies